Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 28: Festival of Spring (1)

‘Can I show them?’

That fundamental question flashed through my mind.

Also,

‘Can I reveal myself in this place?’

The outsider hesitated to remove his mask.

Thunk.

Erina Trotsky, who was staring at the dueling arena with a deeply troubled expression, sensed someone sitting beside her.

Clatter!

And they made quite a ruckus doing so.

Lady Trotsky had no interest in whoever sat beside her right now.

She was completely engrossed in every movement of Johan Kraubitz, the man who was to become her husband…

“Ahem. Ahem. Ahem!”

The person next to her was unbearably noisy.

On top of that, the amount of perfume they had doused themselves in was overwhelming—it smelled so strongly of lilacs that she felt like her nose was about to rot.

Unable to endure it any longer, Erina turned to the person beside her and spoke.

“Ugh, seriously! Could you at least have some manners while watching? Were you raised without any proper upbringing?”

“……?!?!?!?!?”

And the moment she turned her head, her eyes landed on the empire’s little sun—

Crown Prince Arthur Pontiac, sitting there in full splendor.

“……M-My apologies. You were focusing on the duel… Well, it's not like His Majesty the Emperor personally taught me any manners…”

“N-No, Your Highness! I would never dare…! I have committed a grave sin.”

Erina felt her hands and feet trembling slightly.

Had she just insulted the imperial family by criticizing his upbringing?

Even if she had a rather bold personality, she had no choice but to tread carefully when faced with the threat of being torn limb from limb.

So, she quickly lowered her head in an attempt to apologize—

“Do not apologize.”

The Crown Prince's voice rang out, as if he didn’t care about his parents being insulted in front of a woman.

“Wouldn’t that mean you will properly educate our child? That’s enough for me.”

“……”

This bastard… He’s completely insane.

The empire’s little sun was already speaking as if he had won his bet against Johan Kraubitz—talking about ‘our child’ and all.

‘…If this were Korea, I’d have reported him to the authorities right away…’

Erina felt a heavy sense of despair as she observed the primitive absolutism of this barbaric world.

Regardless, Arthur Pontiac started chattering beside her in earnest.

“Anyway… the Northern Grand Duke has met quite the unfortunate opponent. To think he would face Knight Devon.”

The blond Crown Prince shook his head, looking quite pleased.

Hearing this, Erina asked,

“Is this Knight Devon really that strong? I’ve never heard of him before.”

“He is a famous knight. One of the very few high-rank Sword Experts across the entire continent. I doubt there’s anyone stronger than him in the entire southern region.”

Chuckle. Chuckle.

Arthur Pontiac could barely contain the laughter leaking from his throat.

He spoke again, his voice tinged with amusement.

“A half-baked Grand Duke who can’t even use mana… going up against a high-rank Expert Knight? There won’t even be a need for the Spring Hunt—this match will be decided today.”

“Huh? The outcome will be decided today? But wasn’t the bet about Your Highness defeating the Grand Duke of Axen during the Spring Hunt? Why are you saying it’ll be decided now…?”

“Oh, come now… What are you talking about? If he loses in the preliminaries and doesn’t even make it to the Spring Hunt, then of course that means I win automatically, doesn’t it?”

“What? How can you twist the bet however you want— I mean, uh, never mind.”

The sincerity in Arthur Pontiac’s eyes was unmistakable.

If Johan Kraubitz lost to Knight Devon, the Crown Prince was obviously planning to insist that he had won by default.

And if things unfolded that way…

‘I’ll have to marry this peacock?’

That meant she was doomed to a romance with the Crown Prince, who doused himself in lilac perfume and even had his fingernail cuticles perfectly groomed.

Of course, by the standards of this world, this would be considered a great honor for her family, but for Erina—who longed only to return to Seoul—it was nothing short of a disaster.

So, she quietly clasped her hands together and prayed.

‘Win… Please…’

Yes, Johan Kraubitz, please—

‘Please win…’

Waaaaaaah!

The crowd’s cheers echoed around me.

‘Disgusting.’

Looking at their bright, cheerful expressions, I felt nausea rise in my throat.

It was obvious why these noble lords were so enthusiastic about this duel.

As far as the public knew, I was still a ‘half-baked knight’ who couldn’t use mana.

Meanwhile, my opponent was a high-rank Expert Knight who dominated the South.

It was clear what the spectators wanted.

‘They’re hoping the barbaric Grand Duke of the North gets humiliated.’

The recent rise of the Duchy of Axen must have been an eyesore to them.

So they were hoping for a chance to see me thoroughly disgraced.

Of course, some of the nobles who had sent their children to the Axen Academy had stiff expressions on their faces.

Like it or not, their children were growing up on my land.

So, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to openly support Knight Devon.

But still—

‘Judging by their faces, not a single one of them thinks I can win.’

As I took in their sneering, contemptuous gazes one by one, the knight standing opposite me finally spoke.

His voice carried a sinister edge.

“Then, let us begin. Lord Johan Kraubitz, ruler of the Northern Duchy of Axen…”

Smirk.

“It is an honor to cross swords with you.”

As he spoke, he wrapped his entire body in killing intent. His demeanor was polite, but his sword overflowed with an unparalleled sharpness.

Swoosh!

I, too, had to accept this honorable duel with the proper courtesy.

“I also consider it an honor to test my strength against you, Knight Devon. Then…”

Sliiiiide!

“I hope you will give it your all.”

As I unsheathed my longsword, I calmly attempted to close the distance between us.

But then—

Wuuuuuuuung!

A blue moonlight flickered over Devon’s sword for a moment…

Kwaaaaaaaa!

And in an instant, it erupted into a massive aura, blazing as if it were devouring the blade itself.

“N-No way!”

The spectators gasped in shock.

“An aura attack right from the first clash… And from a high-rank Expert, no less.”

“Impressive. Southern knights seem to be as passionate as their hot weather.”

“I heard the Northern Grand Duke can’t even use mana… How will he possibly block that?”

“Well, I heard the Grand Duke of Axen is at least good with a pen… This scholar is about to take a huge hit.”

The eager spectators grew noisier by the second.

Even as I listened to their sneering remarks, I continued to ponder.

‘Should I even win this? If I do, the Duchy of Axen will attract too much attention. That’s something I should avoid. But if I lose here…’

I won’t be able to participate in the Spring Hunt, which means I won’t receive the divine oracle from the Supreme God or gain imperial support.

With that in mind, I had no choice but to take the lesser evil.

‘I can’t afford to lose to this Devon guy.’

The moment I made up my mind, Knight Devon’s sword was already upon me.

Swoooosh!

KWA-BOOOOM!

I raised my longsword and took the full brunt of his strike—an attack infused with the concentrated aura of a high-rank Expert.

A blow of this caliber would undoubtedly deliver a tremendous impact.

BOOOOOOOM!

As I lifted my longsword to block his strike, a massive shockwave swept through my entire body.

‘As expected, this isn’t easy. Even in Johan’s body, handling this level of aura is difficult.’

Craaaack!

The force of his sword pushed me back, my feet dragging against the ground.

I was genuinely surprised by the sheer power behind his strike.

And then…

“W-What is that…?”

“He blocked an aura-infused attack? And from Knight Devon, of all people?”

“How can he do that without using even a trace of mana?”

It seemed the spectators were even more shocked than I was.

“Guh.”

A bewildered sigh escaped from between Knight Devon’s clenched teeth.

Despite having the upper hand, he appeared more surprised than I was.

“I can’t sense any mana, so how in the world…?”

I locked eyes with him, twisted my sword arm, and altered the angle of our engagement.

KWA-BOOOOOOM!

Using Johan Kraubitz’s towering physique, I launched a downward strike from above.

There was a reason why Knight Commander Victor had taught me an eagle-based sword stance since childhood.

Johan had been ridiculously tall ever since he was young.

Craaaack!

With Johan’s monstrous strength, I pressed down with my sword—

Flash!

And in an instant, I leaped backward, disengaging from the clash.

Throb.

Even though it was brief, my body, which had directly clashed with aura, screamed in agony.

‘It seems that even with this monstrous body, there’s a limit.’

That meant I couldn’t afford a prolonged contest of strength.

I had to shift this into a battle of technique, striking quickly and retreating.

If this turned into a pure test of brute force, Johan’s stamina would eventually run out.

But despite knowing this, I still hesitated.

‘There’s a sure way to win, but… If I use that…’

I wasn’t sure if it was something I should reveal to the world just yet.

“Y-Your Majesty, please stop this.”

Baron Goldman, a close friend of the late Northern Grand Duke, knelt before Emperor Freud Pontiac.

Sweat dripped down his face as he pleaded.

“A high-rank Expert dueling the Grand Duke of Axen is far too dangerous. Please… Call off this duel.”

He was the same man who had previously visited Johan’s quarters to offer him advice.

Now, he had a bad feeling—his instincts told him that Johan, whom he saw as a nephew, was in danger.

‘This must be a trap set by Grand Duke Demaris of the South… To eliminate the Grand Duke of Axen…’

So even if it meant committing the grave offense of pleading before the Emperor, he had to stop this.

After all, there was no way they could allow a seventeen-year-old Northern Grand Duke to fight a veteran knight.

However…

Saaaaah…

The Emperor did not respond.

He simply gazed at Baron Goldman in silence for a moment…

And then.

A small smile appeared on his lips.

In a low voice, the Emperor spoke.

“That?”

“…Pardon?”

“You’re telling me to stop that?”

With that, the Emperor raised a finger and pointed toward the dueling arena.

And there—

BOOM! BOOOOM!

Knight Devon, pouring every ounce of his strength into his aura, was locked in his dozens-of-exchanges battle with the Northern Grand Duke—

Who had cast aside his cumbersome armor and was displaying monstrous strength.

“N-No way…”

A stunned Baron Goldman stammered.

And the Emperor added one more thing.

“Don’t worry. After all…”

Yes, after all.

“A tiger doesn’t get torn apart by a mere dog.”